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The Hindu
5 days ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
UTT 6 season review: Rising talent, better games — but the same old hurdles
The broadcast equipment was boxed up. The chairs were covered and stacked. The centre of attention — the nine-feet-long, five-feet-wide, two-and-a-half-feet-high table — was disassembled. As the clock approached midnight on June 15, the indoor stadium at the EKA Arena in Ahmedabad was on the verge of complete dismantling. For 16 days, the temporary venue had hosted the sixth season of the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) league, which ended with the crowning of a new champion, U Mumba, after its 8-4 win over Jaipur Patriots in a summit clash between two first-time finalists. The franchise-based league, staged under the aegis of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) and promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani, had previously been held in Mumbai, Pune, New Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai. Ahmedabad's selection as the latest host served two purposes — reaching a new live audience and furthering the city's emergence as a hub for Olympic sports, particularly in the context of India's bid for the 2036 Summer Games. In the previous season, held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai after the Paris Olympics, the majority of the 2,000 available seats were empty on most matchdays. In Ahmedabad, the capacity was halved for a more intimate setting. The cheapest ticket was priced at Rs 49, while premium hospitality ones went up to Rs 1,999. Corporate tournaments were held as part of a pre-event local activation campaign, but as with UTT 5, there were days when the EKA Arena looked sparsely populated. The recent tension between India and Pakistan, following the terror attack in Pahalgam, led to a rescheduling of the Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs — one of the biggest events in Indian sport. The Eliminator (June 1) and the IPL Final (June 3), both held in Ahmedabad, clashed with two of the first four days of UTT 6. On both days, UTT hosted single ties starting at 5pm, two-and-a-half hours before the IPL matches — but the stands were nearly empty. From June 4 to 7, a state-ranking tournament was being held in Bhavnagar, 170 km from Ahmedabad, which reduced the chances of local players and fans attending UTT in the opening phase. However, fixtures involving tournament debutant Kolkata ThunderBlades had a vibrant atmosphere, thanks to an enthusiastic cheering squad and dholwalas supporting the baby-blue-clad team. The co-owners — Ketan Jain and Rajat Kumar, both former national-level players — set a fan engagement template later adopted by the Patriots. The season ended on a relatively upbeat note, with around 500 spectators attending each of the two semifinals and a near-capacity crowd present for the final. Also, with 20 million viewers tuning in across TV and OTT platforms last season, and a broadcast deal with JioStar running until 2027, the organisers may not be overly concerned about live audience numbers and might let that aspect evolve organically. From a talent perspective, UTT 6 featured top international names like World No. 12 Bernadette Szocs, World No. 17 Adriana Díaz, World No. 25 Quadri Aruna, World No. 34 Ricardo Walther and World No. 42 Britt Eerland. For the first time since the inaugural edition in 2017, a Chinese player — Fan Siqi — participated. She was the most valuable player at UTT's first-ever auction in April. World No. 12 Bernadette Szocs was one of the star attractions at this year's UTT. | Photo Credit: VIJAY SONEJI For India, established players such as Harmeet Desai (Dempo Goa Challengers), Sreeja Akula (Jaipur Patriots), and G. Sathiyan (Dabang Delhi TTC) featured, but there were notable absentees. Ahmedabad SG Pipers' Manika Batra was ruled out two days before the tournament due to injury. Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah — the country's top two male paddlers and both Gujaratis — missed out due to commitments in foreign leagues. For a league built as a platform to boost Indian table tennis, their absence was a blow. At the same time, eight Indian players made their UTT debuts, with several putting in standout performances. U Mumba's Akash Pal, who didn't get a game in UTT 5, justified his retention by becoming the best Indian doubles player this season. P.B. Abhinandh, a 17-year-old from Chennai and a Mumbai franchise member, shocked Olympian Izaac Quek on debut, bagged a crucial game in the semifinal against the Challengers, and secured the title-winning point in the final. Youngsters Ankur Bhattacharjee, Yashaswini Ghorpade, and Diya Chitale also strengthened their claims as rising stars. A new Under-15 event titled Dream UTT Juniors, won by the ThunderBlades, was a welcome addition. The quality of play steadily improved. Both semifinals were tightly contested, with the second one decided on a Golden Point in the 15th and final game. In the league stage, 11 of 20 ties ended with either 8-7 or 9-6 scorelines. The semifinal qualification cut-off was 41 points — the highest in the last three seasons. Dabang Delhi's Maria Xiao and G. Sathiyan in action against Goa Challengers' Zeng Jian and Harmeet Desai during UTT Season 6 in Ahmedabad. | Photo Credit: VIJAY SONEJI All eight teams fought fiercely for every point, and controversies naturally followed — over let calls, questionable service motions, and close edge-ball decisions that challenged even the keenest eyes. 'The review system was recently trialled at the ITTF World Cup and the ITTF World Championships but hasn't been implemented fully. Hopefully, once it becomes permanent on the WTT circuit, we may see it in upcoming UTT seasons too,' said Desai. Some coaches and players also advocated for the inclusion of one-minute timeouts, already standard on the international circuit. John Murphy, coach of champion U Mumba, suggested a tweak to the tie format: 'Instead of following the set sequence of men's singles, women's singles, mixed doubles, reverse men's singles and reverse women's singles, the team winning the toss should be allowed to choose whether to start with a male or female player. For a team like us with Bernadette Szocs, we'd want her to open the tie. It could also prevent the final singles from always being a women's match.' Jorg Bitzigeio, coach of the bottom-placed Stanley's Chennai Lions, called for an end to player retentions in future auctions. 'Among Indian male players, two (Desai and Sathiyan) are strong in both singles and doubles, offering more tactical options. Others are either still developing in one format or the other. These two have always been retained [Sathiyan wasn't retained but stayed at Dabang]. It's better if there's no retention,' he said. Attracting more global stars and top coaches doesn't seem to be a concern for UTT. Indian paddlers have shown marked improvement in international results since the league's inception in 2017 — winning 15 Commonwealth Games medals, three at the Asian Games, and seven at the Asian Championships. But when it comes to the financial health of franchises, the picture is mixed. The league expanded from six to eight teams last year. For UTT 6, ThunderBlades replaced Bengaluru Smashers and Puneri Paltan rebranded as PBG Pune Jaguars. 'Goa have made money. Like that, if the franchises put in little effort, they'll all break even soon,' said Dani on the morning of the final. 'You may have noticed that many of these franchises now have started getting sponsors, reflected by their jerseys. That's a sign that people believe in our model, the game and the league as a property. 'Of course, it will take a little time but we are moving in the right direction and quickly. For us, as league owners, our ROI is in how Indian table tennis does more than financials because we are not here to only make money. It is more important that as a country, we do well.' Across six editions, there have been 16 franchises. Of these, only the Challengers has turned a profit — largely thanks to its back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024. Related Topics UTT
The Hindu
30-05-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Indian paddlers poised to deliver in sixth season of Ultimate Table Tennis
After delivering fast-paced action to fans in Delhi, Pune, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai over the first five seasons, the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) caravan is headed to a new destination. The sixth edition of the franchise-based league is set to take place at the EKA Arena in Ahmedabad from May 31 to June 15. Conducted under the auspices of the Table Tennis Federation of India and promoted by Vita Dani and Niraj Bajaj, UTT has featured the crème de la crème of Indian table tennis along with several well-known global stars since its inception in 2017. The tournament has typically been organised in June and July, except for the last season, which began in late August due to the Paris Olympics. However, the upcoming edition, comprising 23 ties across 16 days, begins less than a week after the conclusion of the World Championships in Doha on May 25, where 20 of the 48 UTT players were in action. 'It's a very small window that we have. Players don't play every day, and the amount of game time is also very concise,' Dani told Sportstar when asked about potential concerns regarding fatigue or withdrawals by those participating in Doha. 'We have to strike a balance between the international and the sporting calendar in India. We usually like to start after the IPL (Indian Premier League) because that is when the excitement is maximum. It also helps with our promotions, as viewership is at its peak. Keeping the international calendar in mind, we don't want to clash with major events. It affects participation from both Indian and overseas players.' Previous Winners 2017 – Falcons TTC 2018 – Dabang Smashers TTC 2019 – Chennai Lions 2023 – Goa Challengers 2024 – Goa Challengers (No seasons were held between 2020 and 2022 due to COVID-19.) First-ever auction After operating under a draft system for the first five seasons, the league held its first-ever auction on April 15 in Mumbai, where each of the eight teams had a notional purse of Rs. 50 lakh. Harmeet Desai and Sreeja Akula were retained by Dempo Goa Challengers and Jaipur Patriots, respectively, via the Right to Match card. Ahmedabad SG Pipers signed Manika Batra after PBG Pune Jaguars released the star paddler. However, Manika has since withdrawn due to an injury. She will be replaced by Ayhika Mukherjee. Fan Siqi, the only Chinese participant, emerged as the most valued player at Rs. 19.70 lakh. However, this value is not the actual amount paid. Each player has been contracted by UTT for an undisclosed fee. 'It (the auction) is just to create more excitement. It introduces more variables and provides strategic options, opening up many avenues.' Although there will be no top 10 player for the fifth consecutive season, Indian athletes will have the chance to compete with and against several established international stars, such as Romania's Bernadette Szocs (World No. 13), Puerto Rico's Adriana Diaz (World No. 17) and Nigeria's Quadri Aruna (World No. 25). Szocs became the first Romanian woman since Otilia Badescu in 1993 to win a medal at the World Championships in Doha where she and Austria's Sofia Polcanova grabbed a bronze. Bernadette Szocs in action. | Photo Credit: M. Vedhan. New additions Apart from a new host city, this edition has several other additions. A new franchise, Kolkata Thunder Blades — co-owned by Uneecops and Mvikas — replaces Bengaluru Smashers. The Puneri Paltan has also rebranded itself as PBG Pune Jaguars. An Under-15 event titled Dream UTT Juniors will run alongside the main tournament. Targeting organic growth in attendance Since the league began in 2017, India has won 15 medals at the Commonwealth Games, three at the Asian Games, and seven at the Asian Championships. Indian players such as Manika, Harmeet, Sreeja, Manav Thakkar, Manush Shah, G. Sathiyan, Ayhika, Sutirtha Mukherjee and Diya Chitale have benefitted from competing in UTT against high-quality international opponents. The presence of such players can only inspire and benefit the next generation of Indian talent. However, Achanta Sharath Kamal (above) — India's most decorated paddler and a key figure in the country's global success in the sport — retired after the WTT Star Contender in March and will not feature as a player in UTT 6. Also, two of Gujarat's finest players, Manav and Manush, will miss this season due to commitments in other foreign leagues. 'There are many rules across multiple leagues around the world that state that if someone is playing in one league, they cannot play in another. There will inevitably be some clash somewhere. Sometimes, we don't have a choice and will miss out on some good talent. But this also creates opportunities for younger and promising players. Our junior players will also be introduced to and gain exposure through the league,' said Dani. While the single-city editions of 2019 (Delhi) and 2023 (Pune) had better turnout, the previous season in Chennai recorded an average footfall of just 600 per match, despite home favourites Sharath and Sathiyan in action. Hat-trick on the cards: Goa Challengers defended its title in the previous edition, led by stellar performances by the likes of Harmeet Desai. | Photo Credit: R. Ragu Dani emphasised that the focus is on organic audience growth: 'We want people to come for the sport itself. For that, we need to take the game to the people. That's why we have been to different venues. In some places, you feel only 700 people have come because the venues are larger-than-life. We want the right audience — those who attend because they genuinely want to.' What's the format? The eight teams have been split equally into two groups. Each team will face the other three teams in its group, as well as two sides from the opposite group. For example, if Group A has teams 1, 3, 5, 7 and Group B has teams 2, 4, 6, 8, then: Team 2 plays Team 1 and Team 3 Team 4 plays Team 1 and Team 3 Team 6 plays Team 5 and Team 7 Team 8 plays Team 5 and Team 7 Each tie comprises two men's singles, two women's singles, and one mixed doubles match. Every match includes three games. Unlike international rules requiring a two-point lead to win a game, UTT uses a Golden Point to decide games tied at 10–10. The team that wins eight games in total wins the tie. The top four teams will advance to the knockout stage. SQUADS Dempo Goa Challengers Zeng Jian, Harmeet Desai, Tiago Apolonia, Ronit Bhanja, Krittwika Sinha Roy, Sayali Wani Chennai Lions Kiril Gerassimenko, Payas Jain, Sudhanshu Grover, Fan Siqi, Nikhat Banu, Jennifer Varghese Dabang Delhi TTC Diya Chitale, Maria Xiao, G. Sathiyan, Quek Izaac, Suhana Saini, Sourav Saha PBG Pune Jaguars Alvaro Robles, Anirban Ghosh, Mudit Dani, Dina Meshref, Reeth Rishya, Taneesha Kotecha U Mumba TT Lilian Bardet, Akash Pal, P.B. Abhinandh, Bernadette Szocs, Yashaswini Ghorpade, Swastika Ghosh Kolkata Thunder Blades Quadri Aruna, Ankur Bhattacharjee, Deepit Patil, Adriana Diaz, Selena Selvakumar, Ananya Chande Jaipur Patriots Britt Eerland, Kanak Jha, Sreeja Akula, Jeet Chandra, Pritha Vartikar, Yashansh Malik Ahmedabad SG Pipers Ayhika Mukherjee, Ricardo Walther, SFR Snehit, Giorgia Piccolin, Divyansh Srivastava, Yashini Sivashankar Note: The story has been updated to reflect news of Manika Batra's injury. More stories from this issue
